Unfortunately for your argument re Myers the stats do back him up.
Average 7.5 contested possessions a game, placing him 5th behind Hepp, Jobe, Parish & Zerret.
Not to say Begley hasn’t got a bucketload of potential, but inside mid isn’t his go as yet - even in the Twos as a mid he played slightly outside as the first handball / knock on receiver and was able to use his strength from there.
If Stringer plays as expected - mid then resting forward Fridge is the obvious rotation, ahead of Laverde
Langford and Myers are the question of both or one?
Respectfully disagree. A guy who plays predominantly inside mid should have more than 2 contested possessions a a quarter. His clearance numbers are poor also. He doesn’t do enough on the inside to warrant an automatic selection which for some reason he seems to be.
If he’s a lock for our midfield, we’re going nowhere. I see a rotation of Begley & Stringer being more value both in the midfield and forward of centre.
If Stringer gets fit enough to play as much midfield as we hope and Smith plays plenty of midfield and Langford gets a go in midfield as hoped, then the discussion on Myers is probably a moot point because he’ll be depth.
I agree that Begley has plenty of potential, but I don’t think he’ll be ready for a big amount of midfield time in the 1’s just yet. I’m more than happy for him to prove me wrong though.
No doubt he’ll get games, but I don’t think he’ll be best 22. Hopefully he’s not far off and therefore ends up playing plenty of games.
…and sadly that trick doesn’t work anymore. His thing is to kick the ball a long way. To do that he needs to pick the ball up, stand up, find some space, and kick the ball. In the current game you just don’t get time to do that.
If he wants to be in our mid then he needs to change his game style to similar to what Jobe did - get the ball and feed it out regardless of whether you or on your knees, bent over or falling over.
The other point on Myers, is that Woosha has shown no fear of dropping experienced guys if he thinks they’re no longer up to it. There is little doubt Myers will fall into that category this season unless he finds some dramatic, unexpected improvement. If Myers does become depth the biggest question will be what happens with him in 2019 seeing as he’s contracted for 2019.
Don’t get me wrong…I know I said above I’d still have Myers and Langford ahead of Begley if it was a pure midfield spot, but I don’t actually have any of these 3 in my best 22 at the moment.
But no doubt there will be plenty of opportunity for these guys and hopefully Langford and Begley have started to realise their potential and are best 22 before season’s end.
I’m a fan of Myers and despite limitations to his game he adds a lot of grunt and his ball use is creative and intelligent IMO. He can also stand up in a tackle and release cleanly as well as his defensive efforts - shepherds, blocks and createing space for other players. A class above the Hockings, Howletts of the world but certainly not a walk up any longer (though I suspect he will be there round 1).
However I completely agree with giving Begley opportunities ahead of him and am almost as bullish about his game as HAP (almost)
I personally think Begley is still is still quite away from being an AFL midfielder and needs to develop this in the VFL. He simply does not find enough of the ball and has not been able to do so in the VFL at this point either. Hopefully it will come though and come quickly.
I think Begley has all the tools to be out Hannebery but I would like to see a bit more production.
I didn’t expect high numbers at VFL level last season due to the role he was playing but like Langford I would like to see him given a big midfield role at VFL level and see how he goes.
From what I have seen I don’t expect him to be a brute in the Parker mound but more good balance of inside and out.
I think Begley, McGrath, Langford, Merrett and Parish is going to be a top line midfield for a long time.
Was Begley training with the midfield group prior to the break? I dont believe so. With 8 weeks left in the pre-season, he may yet get a chance to train as a midfielder.
Gee, I just had to mention Myers and the threads fired up!
Re those claiming his contested stats per game are too low, again only four blokes, one retired, are ahead, so I assume you’re equally dismissive of our other mids.
We can take thisofff the Begley thread to a more appropriate spot - it actually says more about our general contested ball weakness as a side (not the Swans game - aaagh)
As this is the Begley thread though I agree with Werewolf that Fridge hasn’t actually shown much as an inside mid - yet.
That was my point.
I hope Begley entrenches himself in the side, but it won’t be a direct swap for Myers.
If he is burning the track up then using him a la Callum Ward (Fridge has excellent endurance) would be a more exciting possibility.
My guess is Myers will have six weeks to show his form is good enough which at the same time gives Begley a chance for midfield time in the VFL - For me the two most important young players at the club are Begley for his kicking and Francis for his hardness at the ball.
If so for me I’d go Langford and Draper. My reasons are that I think Langford showed a lot in the VFL as an inside midfielder and it’s a clear gap for us. Draper showed more than enough as an inexperienced ruck and our rucks are ageing, injury prone and not dominant.
I just think there are other potentials in front of Begley in the midfield. Francis does not fill a gap for us. However if he realises his potential then no doubt he would be incredibly influential. I’m just not sure if he will.
Where are people getting the ‘Begley full time midfielder’ thing from?
I think the number one skill that a midfielder can have at any level is the ability to find a lot of the ball, that’s 25+ touches per game. Don’t quote me on the stats but didn’t he only average 16 touches or so in the TAC Cup as midfielder? For me it’s just not enough. Has he ever shown that he can rack up the footy?
Yes I’m sure he can play stints in the guts but to me he looks more like a 60/40 forward/mid kind of player. Not the type to hang our big midfield hopes on.
